Guatemala Hacienda Bolsa Pour-Over Coffee Experience | Guatemala Coffee Brewing Parameters

Huehuetenango

Guatemala Finca La Bolsa

Origin: Huehuetenango

Estate: Finca La Bolsa

Altitude: 1500 meters

Variety: Pacamara

Processing: Washed

01| Origin Introduction

Guatemala borders Mexico to the north and El Salvador and Honduras to the south, with numerous volcanoes throughout the country. This nation, which primarily focuses on coffee cultivation and export, possesses fertile soil suitable for coffee tree growth, appropriate climate, abundant water resources, and high-altitude cultivation heights. Within its territory lie many renowned coffee-growing regions, such as Antigua, Huehuetenango, Cobán, and others. Among these, Huehuetenango and Antigua are most familiar to coffee enthusiasts. The Huehuetenango region is located in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala, with cultivation altitudes reaching 1800-2100 meters, making it the country's highest-altitude coffee-producing region, famous for producing excellent quality beans.

Finca La Bolsa Introduction

Finca La Bolsa is located in the department of La Libertad, Guatemala, and produces consistently high-quality coffee. The coffee produced by this estate has won numerous cupping awards, and their coffee is frequently seen in various barista competitions.

Finca La Bolsa is adjacent to Guatemala's most famous estate, Finca El Injerto, producing quality comparable to it, often making them difficult to choose between in competitions. In 1956, Dr. Jorge Vides purchased this fertile land and began his coffee cultivation career. Today, the estate is managed by the third-generation successor, Mr. Renardo Ovalle.

The Vides family established the estate's core between the valleys of the Cuchumatanes mountain range, where two rivers flow through the valley. Along the riverbanks, they established many necessary daily facilities, such as schools, farmhouses, hydroelectric power plants, and most importantly, green bean washing processing stations and drying mills.

Currently, of approximately 100 hectares of land, 80 hectares are used for growing coffee trees, using organic compost and water sources from the natural environment. The local coffee trees are mostly maintained at 15 years of age, with 3 to 4 prunings annually, 3 to 4 pest and disease control treatments, 3 to 4 fertilizer applications, and harvesting in four stages during the harvest season. Unlike other Guatemalan estates, due to the extremely steep mountain terrain, all work must be completed by hand, which enhances coffee quality but also makes production work very challenging.

In 2002, Finca La Bolsa won the honor of second place in the Guatemala Cup of Excellence, achieving a high score of 94.98.

In 2005, Finca La Bolsa was selected by Anacafé and German channel DWTV as the main character in a documentary about Huehuetenango coffee, filming how high-quality coffee is produced in Guatemala. It is now widely known in coffee-growing regions worldwide.

This batch is a micro-lot [Washed Pacamara] acquired through the Cheetah Project, with a global limited edition of 138 kilograms. Excellent coffee varieties, superior geographical environment, combined with meticulous and careful processing, have resulted in this rare [micro-lot] specialty coffee bean.

02| Processing Method

The coffee washing method began in the mid-18th century. During the washing process, the pulp of the coffee cherry is first removed, followed by fermentation tanks to remove the mucilage remaining on the parchment, and the beans are then cleaned and dried.

The washing method can remove impurities and defective beans through each step, resulting in uniform green bean appearance and is generally considered to produce high-quality green beans. However, the biggest disadvantage of washed coffee is that during the fermentation process, coffee beans are easily contaminated with fermentation odors. Beans acquire fermentation tastes mostly due to lack of proper management and maintenance of fermentation tanks. When coffee beans with mucilage on their parchment are soaked in fermentation tanks, microbial changes can cause the beans to acquire fermentation tastes.

Additionally, the equipment costs for coffee washing are relatively high, and the washing steps are quite labor-intensive.

03| Green Bean Analysis

Pacamara is a hybrid variety discovered in El Salvador in 1950, crossing Pacas and Maragogipe.

First cultivated by Salvadoran researchers in 1958, Pacamara is an excellent variety rarely achieved through artificial breeding. It possesses both the outstanding flavor profile of the Pacas variety and the large size of Maragogipe, with beans at least 70-80% the size of elephant beans. The most notable characteristics of this variety are its lively and complex acidity, sometimes with biscuit aromas, sometimes with fruit notes, and excellent body and mouthfeel.

04| Roasting Analysis

This coffee variety is the large-bean [Pacamara], with relatively large particles and high density, and new harvest beans naturally have higher moisture content. During the roasting process, it absorbs heat more quickly, and the Maillard reaction process is also faster. The yellowing point occurs around 5 minutes. In the first batch roast, the drop temperature was relatively high, with an entry temperature of 200°C and relatively high heat settings. During the roasting process, heat was gradually reduced as needed. Heat was fine-tuned when the beans reached the yellowing point, completed dehydration, and showed first crack signs, to avoid surface scorching. Under this operating method, the coffee's dehydration time is relatively shortened, with temperature increase speed of 6-8 degrees every thirty seconds, and it enters first crack earlier, preserving more floral and fruit aromas, with clean and bright acidity.

Roasting machine: Yangjia 600g semi-direct heat

Preheat to 200°C, air damper set to 3. After 30 seconds, adjust heat to 160°C, air damper unchanged. Return temperature point at 1'45". Maintain heat. At 5'00", bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. Heat reduced to 130°C, air damper adjusted to 4.

Dehydration completed only at 7'50". Heat reduced to 80. At 8'00", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 8'15", first crack begins, heat reduced to 50, air damper fully open to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not so low that crack sounds disappear). After first crack, develop for 1'50", drop at 194°C.

This La Bolsa is quite impressive, with noticeable and smooth sweet and sour sensations, featuring lemon, passion fruit, and plum acidity, along with brown sugar aromatics. The flavors continue to change with temperature variations.

05| Brewing Analysis

Recommended method: Pour-over

Grind size: Fuji 3.5

Filter: V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15

Time: 1'55~2'00

Brewing technique:

Bloom with 30g water for 30s, pour to 110g for分段, slowly pour to 225g

That is 30—110—225

Sweetness: ☆☆

Acidity: ☆☆

Bitterness: ☆

a. Tasting flavors:

Peach, peanut, cereal

Flavor radar chart:

Bitterness　1.5

Acidity　3.5

Sweetness　4

Body　3

Finish　2

b. Brewing results:

This is a coffee very suitable for pour-over, with water temperature around 85°C being the ideal temperature to interpret its character. You only need to pour water in a leisurely circular motion to enjoy its deliciousness.

The vibrant tropical fruit-like aroma can be easily detected during brewing, and excellent sweetness is a distinct characteristic of Valmar.

Upon entry, the tongue can feel the sweetness of cantaloupe, fresh peach juiciness flows through the throat, leaving apple-like acidity. This acidity becomes mellow as the temperature decreases, and finally, what fills the nasal cavity is the aroma of peanuts and cereal, making this a coffee that possesses both fruit and nut notes.

c. Basic bean information:

Guatemala Valmar Estate comes from the Cobán rainforest. The Cobán coffee region is located in Alta Verapaz province, 220 kilometers outside Guatemala City. This region is famous for its undisturbed natural environment and unique microclimate. The processing method uses semi-fermentation as initial processing, followed by sun-drying.

Although the general established impression and conventional wisdom suggests that semi-fermented processed coffee falls between washed and natural methods in terms of cleanliness and flavor complexity. However, Valmar's specialty lies in its excellent cleanliness, completely comparable to washed processed coffee, and its flavor complexity can rival natural processed beans.

The variety of this coffee is Caturra, a highly adaptable variety that can grow without depending on shade trees and is convenient to harvest. In Teacher Han's book "New Edition Coffee Science," you can read that Caturra's reputation in the past was not as good as Yellow Bourbon, but with advances in cultivation techniques, when not using price as the measurement standard, Alice personally believes its flavor does not lose to Yellow Bourbon, and has its own unique style!

FrontStreet Coffee 2018 Micro-batch Guatemala Huehuetenango La Bolsa Pacamara Coffee Beans Fresh Roasted

Purchase link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.5-c-s.w4002-15673140460.17.68306d59Dof4Cg&id=571863079054

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